


Meeting the Family

by eclipsingbinary



Series: Small Problems [2]
Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ensemble Cast, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Ledior Vaude's A+ Parenting, M/M, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29819181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eclipsingbinary/pseuds/eclipsingbinary
Summary: Langris Vaude is still trying to get his head around the fact that his big brother is five years old and likely to stay that way.  Perhaps an afternoon trip to the Golden Dawn base for some quality family time would help.Except there are lots of different definitions of family.  And some of them are better people than others.Also featuring Yuno being the best boyfriend ever, Owen's secret, Golden Dawn detectives and finding out who your real family is.
Relationships: Finral Roulacase & Langris Vaude, Finral Roulacase & Yami Sukehiro, Finral Roulacase & Yuno, Langris Vaude/Yuno
Series: Small Problems [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2191989
Comments: 91
Kudos: 81
Collections: IAmStoryteller's Best of Black Clover Fic Rec





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The little magic knights refused to go back into the box when I was finished with them. Surprise surprise. As if Magna was ever going to shut up for long. It turns out they have more stories to tell. Like always, the story is mostly finished and receiving it's final polishing from the wonderful Fairytail1230 and Simplesongsmistress (go read _Chasing Cars_ once you finish this...). Expect 45k of family drama and little magic knights.
> 
> This story is set after _Small Problems_. I think you should be able to enjoy this one without reading it first, if you're willing to take some things for granted - like Finral, Magna and Luck are five years old. Quick summary if you've not read the first story, or if a short recap would be helpful.
> 
> \--  
>  _Finral, Magna, Luck and Asta are sent to investigate an old dungeon and find the Amulet of Youth by accident in a hidden room. This amulet takes years from a magic user and holds them within the mana awaiting either dispersal or return. Finral, Magna and Luck are turned into children. Finral is suspicious, Magna is loud and Luck doesn't talk._
> 
> _There are various adventures - baseball, drawing competitions, tree climbing, falling down stairs and more. Finral finds his magic on the roof, Luck discovers that Yami's shoulders are the best place in the world, and Magna tells three of the most powerful mages in the Kingdom that they are a bit boring and he'll see them later. And all the while they are being stalked by a suspicious old man desperate to get the power of the amulet for himself._
> 
> _He kidnaps Finral and Luck. Finral manages to send Luck back through a portal that a five year old should not be able to produce. The unlikely saviours are Langris with a new 'find Finral'- spell and Yuno, who has spent five days listening to Langris soul searching and also deciding that he actually doesn't mind. There may be flirting._
> 
> _To save Finral's life, Asta has to deal with the years stuck inside the amulet. It's a fifty/fifty chance whether they are lost to the mana or returned to their owners. In Small Problems, the years went back where they belonged._
> 
> _This is the other version._

“It’ll be good for you both. He’s excited to go.” 

Langris scowled at Vanessa. “It’s a terrible idea. I don’t know why I agreed to this.”

“You agreed because your brother fluttered his eyelashes at you and said please. It happens more than you’d think around here.”

“But, what am I meant to do with him for a whole afternoon? This is a terrible idea. I should probably call it off. I mean, I know nothing about children. Anything could happen. He got kidnapped. He fell down stairs. Stairs. There are loads of stairs in the Golden Dawn Headquarters. He could fall down them and then…”

Yuno tried to contain his delight. Langris was the Vice Captain of the Golden Dawn. He had faced down evil mages, dungeons full of terrible monsters and even Captain Yami on a bad day. Yet here he was in a panic at the thought of spending the afternoon with a five year old. Granted, the five year old used to be his elder brother, but still, a single child. And it had sent Langris into a spiral of anxiety that Yuno had never seen before. It was amusing. It was why Yuno had invited himself along.

Vanessa said, “He hasn’t fallen down the stairs for weeks and we haven’t lost him recently. Magna only set fire to him a little bit.”

Langris’s panicked expression deepened. “On fire?” he squeaked.

Yuno couldn’t help it. He snorted. “She’s kidding, Langris.”

Vanessa’s serious expression dissolved. “You should see your face,” she said through her laughter. “Honest. It’ll be fine. It’s Finral, not Magna you’re taking out for the day. Finral will stick to your side, ask interested questions and worry that you’re not eating all your greens. Really, the hardest thing is going to be persuading Luck that he can’t come too.”

They were interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps from inside the base. The door swung open to reveal a small blond child crackling with lightning magic. Luck inspected each of the visitors with an appraising eye. It was a relief when his stare moved away from Yuno and onto Langris. 

If Langris had felt nervous before, Luck was not going to help. The child might not talk, but there was no doubting his message. ‘If you want to enter this building, you must pass inspection first.’

“Hello Luck,” Yuno said, because Langris looked like he was facing a terrifying monster. “Is Finral here? We were going to take him into town today.”

Luck put his fist on his hip and continued to stare at Langris. He kept his other hand on the door handle to prevent entry. 

“I think you need to say it Langris,” Vanessa giggled.

“Umm. Can we come in to see Finral?”

Luck broke into a delighted smile and ran. Langris stiffened, as though expecting an attack, but instead the child leapt into his arms with a squeal of delight. He attached himself like a small monkey until Langris brought his own arms up to support him. Then Luck ran his hands through the young man’s hair and over his face as if confirming by touch that this was who it was supposed to be. It took a moment before he was satisfied. Then he scrambled down and took one of Langris’s hands to lead the way into the hideout.

Langris cast a worried look back at Yuno, who shrugged. Luck was very small and persuasive. 

“Did you know he was going to do that?” he asked Vanessa as they followed.

“Nope. I had no idea what he was going to do. But I hoped it was going to be funny.”

Luck pulled Langris into the common room, where Finral was perched on the edge of the sofa looking as nervous as his brother. He was chewing the fingernails of his right hand and running two little thread balls through the left. Yami was drinking tea and grinning. 

“Langris. Yuno,” he said. 

Luck tugged Langris towards the sofa and pushed him down so the brothers were sitting side by side. With the air of a weary parent, Luck took the hand that Finral was worrying at and put it in Langris’s. 

Langris looked petrified. 

“Hi,” He said eventually.

“Hi,” Finral replied. 

Luck put both hands on his hips and stared at them. Yuno wondered where Asta was. It was a shame he was missing this. 

“So. You...you wanted to come out for the afternoon?” Langris said.

Finral nodded. 

Langris cast a panicked glance at Yuno. Yuno shrugged. 

Vanessa took pity on them both. “You’re looking forward to going, aren’t you Finral?”

Finral nodded again, then mumbled something. 

“What did you say?” Vanessa asked. 

“Thankyoufortakingme,” Finral muttered.

Yami gave a burst of laughter. “Langris, don’t let the shy act fool you. He hasn’t stopped talking about this for forty eight hours.”

Finral glared at Yami. “I did stop.”

“Yeah. When you were sleeping. But the rest of the time you were talking about this. Stop torturing your brother.”

Finral kicked his legs against the sofa. “I’m not. He’s all tight and worried. It’s not my fault”

“Kid’s got a point, Langris. Loosen up. It’s an afternoon. Take him out and have some fun.”

Instead of fun, Langris looked like he was expecting to be executed. Finral wriggled in his seat and said, “Can I see where you live?”

“Umm. Sure. If you want.”

“Yes please. I’d like that. Will we take Asta’s brother with us? Or is he here to see Asta?”

Langris’s expression said that if Yuno stayed here, he could expect spatial magic holes in all his belongings by tomorrow. For a second, the urge to say that he was here to hang out with Asta was almost overwhelming. Then he reined it in. He was the one who had persuaded Langris to go through with this after all. “I’m going to come too.”

“Okay,” Finral said. “Can I see where you live too?”

Yuno shrugged. “I suppose.”

They were saved from more uncomfortable silences by the door bursting open. Two more children entered through a fog of flour, until closer inspection revealed only one child. The other person was a very short adult. 

“We made cookies,” Magna declared. “And cakes.”

“Charmy,” Vanessa hissed. “I thought we said wait until Langris and Finral had gone.”

Charmy drew herself up to her full height, so that she was a little taller than five year old Magna. “Cookies and cake need to be appreciated. By everyone.”

Luck was first to help himself. He seemed satisfied that Finral and Langris had been managed, so he took his handful of goodies into a corner of the room decorated with hand drawn maps and sparkly objects. He climbed onto a beanbag to eat. 

Magna chattered as he offered his plate of cookies around the room. Of course he chattered. Yuno didn’t think he’d ever see this child without also hearing him talk. “I made these ones with chocolate chips, and they are the best. Miss Charmy said that we had to make some with raisins and blueberries, but I don’t see why because they always get left. But the sheep like them so maybe that’s why. The sheep helped make them, so it’s only fair if they get some too. And it’s best that they get the ones that no one else likes. You can have a cookie and cake, Asta’s brother. We made enough for everyone to have two. You can take some with you on your trip too.”

Yuno took a blueberry and raisin cookie just to see Magna’s eyebrows shoot up. 

“Well, Asta’s brother. That’s one less cookie for the sheep.”

Cookies, cake and tea seemed to settle Finral’s nerves if not Langris’s. “Do you know that Asta and Noelle and Gauche are investigating a dungeon that might have interesting artefacts in it? It’s near Kiten. Asta showed me on a map. I’ve got a portal nearby, so if I was big I could have taken them, but now they’re going to have to go on brooms.”

“Noelle is going to take Asta on her broom,” Magna said. “Because Gauche can’t be trusted. Even his sister says that.”

“Marie did not say that.”

“She did too.” Magna was offering his plate to Yami now. “You never heard.”

Finral paused, then said, “I don’t believe you.”

“Well it is to what she said. And she would know because he’s her brother.”

“You’re making it up.”

Yami interrupted Magna’s reply. “Finral, good job standing up for yourself. Magna, I know he needs practice, but you can stop now.”

“I’m going to keep doing it until he stops going all red whenever he argues,” Magna declared. Yuno looked at Finral. The boy did look more nervous than a simple boyhood disagreement should cause. 

“Both of you. Eat your cookies.”

Charmy handed Yuno and Langris a paper bag of treats each. Yuno’s had small pencilled hearts on it. He decided to ignore them.

“How are we going to get to town?” Finral asked when he was brushing off the crumbs. He had begun to fidget again. 

“I’m going to take us with my magic,” said Yuno

“Wow. Yes please. Thank you. I’d like that. Can we go now?”

Langris had lost a little of his hunted look but it returned with their imminent departure. He glanced at Yami, then Yuno in appeal. Yami laughed.

“Have a good time kids. I’d say come back for dinner, but you know, do what you like. Just let us know, okay?”

Langris did not answer, so Yuno said. “Yes sir.” It was the kind of thing Father Orsi used to say when he and Asta planned day trips into the woods.

“Can I come and see your magic, Asta’s brother?” Magna asked. 

“If you want.”

“Yes! Come on Finral and your brother. I want to see the magic.”

Langris was left with no choice but to stand as Finral pulled him up. Luck came out of his corner and held Finral’s hand. “You know you’re going to stay here,” Vanessa told him.

Luck frowned at her and refused to drop Finral’s hand. 

“We talked about this.”

Luck’s expression said that even if she had talked about it, he had not agreed. 

“Langris hasn’t had any children to look after before. Let’s give him an afternoon to practice with Finral before he takes you both out.”

Luck was still unconvinced. 

“We won’t be too long,” Finral gave his hand a squeeze. “We’ll come back for dinner, won’t we Langris?”

“Sure.” Langris looked more relieved than Luck.

“Come on, let's go and see Yuno’s magic.” Finral tugged Luck along. He still had his other hand in Langris’s, so he was dragged out the door too. Magna cheered and ran on in front.

“You’re going to look after them both, aren’t you,” Yami asked Yuno once the children had left the room. His tone was full of threat.

“Yes Sir.” 

“Good. We’ve got a communication disc if you need us. For anything. We’ll expect you back here for dinner. If not, I will send every Captain after you.”

“Yes Sir.”

Yami nodded in satisfaction and left.

“He isn’t joking?” Yuno asked Vanessa.

“Nope. Not at all.”

“I didn’t think so.”

In the garden, Magna was doing nothing for Langris’s peace of mind by demonstrating all the places that he had set on fire with the biggest fireball ‘ever’. Langris might have coped with that, if Magna had not then pointed out the trees that Finral had climbed yesterday. Even to Yuno’s eye, those branches did not look like they were safe for a child’s weight. 

“Are there trees at your house?” Magna asked. “Because if there are, that would be something fun for Finral to do if you get bored.”

Langris’s face fell and Yuno said quickly, “I don’t know if we’ll be doing that today.”

Finral looked at his brother and sighed. “I like climbing trees. There is… there was a tree beside your window in Tota, Langris. I think I could have climbed that one.”

Langris went very pale. “I remember. You did.” 

Finral continued without noticing Langris’s distress. “Maybe climbing trees could be for another time. I could look at the ones near your house.”

“Maybe that would be a good start,” Yuno said. “We should probably keep our feet on the ground for a first visit.”

Finral nodded and Langris’s face regained some of its colour. Yuno pulled on his magic and summoned the wind arc. Magna jumped up and down on his toes and cheered. Even Luck looked interested, putting out a hand to touch the magical form. He shivered. Luck’s mana detection was high end as an adult, and was probably off the scale for a small child. 

“We get to go on that?” Finral said in wonder.

“Quicker than a broom.”

Magna was speaking to Yami, “Next time, can I go with Finral’s brother and Asta’s brother? Please. I want to go on the wind arc.”

“Another time.” 

Vanessa pulled a wooly hat over Finral’s head and wrapped a scarf around his neck, then convinced Luck to release his hand. Luck looked disappointed, but took the opportunity to scramble up Yami so that he could perch on his shoulders.

As Finral climbed onto the arc, he gasped. “Oh no.” Langris froze, so Yuno had to ask what was wrong. 

“I wanted to show you my room. Henry made a big room for us to share. I’ve got my own bed and everything.”

Yami laughed, probably at the panic on Langris’s face. “Yeah, your own bed, Finral. Somehow Luck still ends up in it with you. You can show Langris and Yuno your room when you come back.”

“Yeah,” Finral said as he found a good spot to see out of the arc. “It’s really great, Langris. You’ll like it. We can visit it later. Yuno, this is wonderful magic.”

“Thank you. It’s not as fast as a portal though.”

“Hmm,” Finral said. He sounded unconvinced. 

Yuno scowled. He had sat through hours of Langris’s soul searching when Finral was turned into a child. It was the first time Langris had acknowledged the damage their father had caused. So Yuno knew Ledior Vaude’s opinion on Finral’s magic. A month with the Bulls would not have been enough to convince the child that his spatial magic was worthwhile, despite the fact that even at five he could do things that adult spatial mages with grimoires could never imagine. And that was not accounting for the things that Finral had been able to do as an adult. He and his brother were more evenly matched than it first appeared.

Yuno brought the arc into the air with his wind magic. Magna yelled with delight and waved both arms. Finral grinned and waved back.

“We’re taking him out for the afternoon. Can you imagine the send off if we were taking him overnight?” Yuno said, then wished he had not when Langris went still. “We’re not though. Just the afternoon.”

“Just the afternoon.” Langris repeated to himself.

Finral was delighted with the journey. It was an overcast day with a hint of snow in the air, but he was wearing his hat and scarf and seemed warm enough. He leaned over the side with Yuno to look at the earth below. Langris made an attempt to grab his brother, then thought better of it and turned the movement into a scratch of his face.

At this rate he was going to give himself a heart attack before they even reached the city.

“This is wonderful,” Finral said as he watched the hideout shrink into the distance. “We’re going really fast. It’s only going to take twenty seven minutes to get to the city like this. It takes an hour on a broom. Langris. Come and look.”

Finral pulled his brother’s hand so they could look over the side together. He began naming various landmarks that Yuno had never heard of. Neither had Langris by the look of it. There was a river, some waterfalls and a small village. Interspersed in the list was, ‘There’s a portal, and one there, and a little one there.’ 

At last, Langris seemed to relax. Finral did not seem to require any response to his happy chatter about what he could see, and that seemed to suit Langris. 

Then they reached the city limits and Finral stopped talking and stared. Yuno was reminded of the way he had felt when he saw a city for the first time. “How big is Tota?” he whispered to Langris.

“It’s only the estate houses. He’s never seen anything like this before.”

“I knew this was here,” Finral said in awe. “But I never knew what it was. That it looked like this. There are portals everywhere. It’s wonderful.” He turned and threw his arms around Langris’s waist in a hurried hug, then went back to the view again.

A small smile crossed Langris’s face. It was the first since he got up from another sleepless night and remembered what he had promised to do. Maybe it was going to be okay after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Yuno brought the wind arc down at the rear of the Golden Dawn’s base. It was a little before lunch so the area was empty except for the squad cat licking itself beside the fountain. Finral’s excitement at the city had been replaced with fidgeting nerves. His hand slipped into his brother’s and Yuno hid his small smile as Langris startled and froze. 

They might have stood like that for the rest of the day if Yuno hadn’t released his spell. “Come on. We can go and have lunch.”

This was going to be torture if Langris didn’t relax a little. It was affecting the kid. Food seemed like a good idea. Langris would not eat anything in this state, but perhaps Finral would loosen up. It had always worked with the kids in Hage. 

The chattering boy from the journey seemed to have retreated into himself as they walked to the dining area. Langris was no help, so it was left to Yuno to try to fill the silence. He was never going to be good at that. He wished he’d brought Asta along. Or anyone. Maybe Mimosa or Klaus could help ease the awkwardness, if they would not simply add extra witnesses to Langris’s panic. So maybe not such a good idea.

The dining area of the Golden Dawn base was one of its less ostentatious rooms, which was a relief when Finral’s gaze was flickering nervously wherever they went. Yuno led them to an out of the way table. 

“What do you want to eat, Finral?” he asked.

“I like everything, thank you Yuno,” the boy said politely. 

“Right. I’m going to get us some food. Take off your hat.”

Langris looked like he was being left with a rabid beast rather than a small child, but he was going to have to talk to the kid sometime. It would be like ripping off a bandaid. He was never going to do it if Yuno let him take it slow.

There was a large pot of chilli and various accompaniments laid out for anyone who chose to come for lunch. The chef, a happy old man with plant magic left out lunch for people to help themselves. The evening meal was a more formal activity for everyone in the base. Yuno avoided it, except when Klaus, Mimosa, and once William Vangeance made him attend. The large pots of wholesome food available for any takers were much more to his liking. 

He filled three bowls. He took his time in the hope that if he left the brothers alone long enough Langris might find it in himself to speak to the child. 

“Is that Langris’s brother?” Mimosa asked. She had arrived while Yuno was distracted with his thoughts. She ladelled out a large bowl of chilli for herself. 

“Yes.”

“He’s rather sweet, isn’t he?”

Yuno stared at her. How was he meant to know that? “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Langris looks sort of uncomfortable. A bit like he’s sat on a cactus.”

“Tell me about it.”

Mimosa giggled and began filling a second bowl. “Do you need any company?”

“I don’t think he's ready for that. Maybe if he doesn’t have a stroke this afternoon it might be safe.”

Mimosa giggled again, as though Yuno was making a joke. He wasn’t. 

“Have you thought about how you’re going to entertain him? Klaus is working on some research paper so I'm taking him lunch, then I’m going to go with David to fetch supplies. We could come see how you’re getting on later? Help distract the kid. Or Langris.”

Yuno glanced at them. Langris looked like he had swallowed the cactus now, but the boy was calmer. He was looking around the room and his legs were swinging beneath his seat. “I think he wanted to see Langris’s room. That’s as far as we got.”

“Well, maybe we'll see you later. Have fun this afternoon.”

Yuno piled his tray and took the food back to the table. 

Finral was chatting again. He seemed to have relaxed and was now telling Langris about magic lessons with Vanessa. “I managed to get a portal to stretch across the garden. That’s the furthest, except for that one.” ‘That one’ was the portal that Finral had made across the country to send Luck back to the hideout and save their lives. “We put one of Charmy’s sheep through it. She said it was okay and the sheep like it. Well. We think the sheep like it.” He glanced up at Langris and said, “I know it’s not as good as your magic. But it was fun.”

Langris’s expression darkened. “Your magic is excellent, Finral. Don’t say it’s anything else.”

“But it’s just the transportation spell.” 

Langris did not answer, so Yuno said, “It’s an excellent spell.”

Finral looked unconvinced. “It might be good for moving things around.”

Yuno nudged Langris and mouthed, ‘say something’. 

Langris froze for a moment, before managing, “You said you could put fireballs through the portals?”

“Oh, yes. It's good for that. Me and Magna use them to train Asta.”

That sounded interesting. Langris seemed to agree. “How do you train Asta?”

“Magna makes fireballs and throws them at Asta. I use portals to make them come from places he’s not expecting. Asta has to use his sword to hit them. Sometimes I can catch them and make them go back towards him. It’s really good fun, but we can’t do it for long.”

Langris was smiling. “That sounds like a great spell.”

“We don’t hit him very often, but I think if we can get Luck to play we might be able to do it with lightning too and that will be harder for Asta to dodge. Yuno should come and try. I bet we could put wind magic through portals.”

Now Yuno smiled too. “I think I’d like that.”

“Can you tell me about your magic?” Finral asked him. “Your wind arc was very good.”

The boy was easy to talk to. He listened to Yuno’s explanation of his magic with intense concentration. He asked if he could see Yuno’s grimoire and was suitably impressed with the four leaf clover. He was even more delighted to meet Bell and she was as fascinated with him. She did not get to meet children often and there was something about Finral’s serious demeanor that seemed to appeal to her. She sat on his shoulder for a bit, and he ate with care to not disturb her. Yuno reassured him that she would not mind if he moved a little as he tried to eat his chili, but the boy did not want to risk it.

Bell was content to sit on his shoulder and kick her heels against him, until she got bored and fluttered off. Finral was enchanted.

“She’s lovely,” he said in awe. “I’ve never met a spirit before. She’s very pretty.”

Bell heard him from the rafters. She giggled. Yuno hoped that a new friend would do her good. 

“What about Langris’s magic?” Yuno asked.

Finral froze the same way as Langris did when he was startled. “I couldn’t…” he whispered.

“Why not?” Langris asked. 

It was probably a snappier response than necessary, but before Yuno could say anything, Finral said, “But, father….”

Langris’s frown deepened and the knuckles gripping his fork went very white. 

“Your father isn’t here,” Yuno reassured. He kept his voice low and gentle. Langris was skittish enough and Finral was suddenly no better. “I’m sure Langris would like to tell you about his magic.”

A small, hopeful smile flickered across the boy’s face. “Would you?” he asked.

“Sure. I could do that,” Langris said. 

Perhaps it was not the warmest answer, but Finral beamed. “I’d like that very much.”

So Langris told Finral about his magic. It was stilted at first, as if he did not know how to start. But as he talked, he loosened off. By the time he was describing his spells, Finral was hanging on every word and Langris looked more relaxed than he had for days. Every time it looked like he was faltering, Finral would ask something interested, and it would open the conversation again. Finral’s delight and awe at his brother’s power was infectious. 

By the time Langris showed him his grimoire, they were both calmer. Other members of the Golden Dawn were now arriving for their lunch. There were a number of curious glances, but Langris and Finral were so deep in conversation that they did not seem to notice. William arrived and smiled at Yuno when he saw them. 

“That’s wonderful magic,” Finral said when Langris had finished showing him his grimoire. “Father would be…” He stopped again as he realised what he had said. He shuddered. 

Langris swallowed and went pale.

Shit, Yuno thought. What a bastard. They could not even mention him without freezing.

With some kind of sixth sense for Langris’s distress, William appeared at the end of the table. Langris calmed, and Finral’s rapid, gulping breaths slowed. “Hello, Finral,” William said. “May I sit at your table for a moment?”

Finral stared until he remembered his manners. “It isn’t really my table, sir.”

“Very well then. I’m William.” He put out a hand for Finral to shake. “Welcome to the Golden Dawn.” He sat across from the child.

“Thank you for having me. It’s very interesting. And this is very tasty. Have you met Charmy in the Black Bulls. She makes all kinds of food. This is nearly as good as hers.”

“High praise indeed.”

“Would you like some? You don’t have anything to eat.”

“I’m going back to my office in a moment. I wanted to make sure that my Vice Captain was welcoming you properly.”

Finral’s eyes narrowed as he realised what William was implying. “Are you the Captain of the Golden Dawn? Like Yami is the Captain of the Black Bulls?”

“Yes. I guess I am.”

“Do you look after Langris the way that Yami looks after us?”

William smiled. “Not exactly like Yami. But in my own way.”

“I don’t think anyone is quite like Captain Yami. But I am glad you are looking after Langris.”

Langris flushed, and William smiled. 

“I like your base very much. It is a bit quieter than my home, but maybe that’s because Magna and Asta aren’t in it. They can be very loud.”

Yuno did not miss that Finral called the Bulls’ base ‘home’. By the considering look on Langris’s face he had not missed it either. 

“You were talking about each other’s magic a moment ago," William said. "Once you have seen around the base, perhaps you would like to meet me in the quadrangle and I can show you my magic. Yami said you might be interested.”

Finral swallowed his mouthful of chilli and made a small ‘oh’ of delight. “Yes please, sir. I would like that.”

William excused himself to collect his own lunch. Finral watched him go. “He’s not at all like Captain Yami. But I like him, Langris. Can we go see his magic?”

“Yeah,” Langris said. “I’m sure we can do that.” But the glance he cast at Yuno was worried. He was obviously remembering Magna pointing out the trees that Finral had climbed at the Bulls’ hideout. Yuno wondered if Langris’s sanity could take what he thought William might have in mind. 

“William will be there. I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Yuno said. And hoped.

William’s greeting seemed to give the rest of the Golden Dawn permission to welcome their visitor. All of the Knights had met Finral as an adult, so there was an understandable fascination in the child version. Finral said hello to them all, even when his eyes glazed over at the progression of adults. Yuno had been around Langris long enough to recognise his contained frustration and sense of entrapment.

“Come on, Langris, Finral. I’m finished. Let’s go and continue our tour.” 

Finral tucked himself so close to Langris’s leg that if it was possible to climb into his pocket he would. His eyes were large and watching everyone in the room as they took their crockery to be washed. Yuno glared at anyone he thought was staring too long. 

Once they were back outside Finral sighed and said, “That’s a lot more people here than there are in my squad.”

“Not everyone here is on the squad,” said Langris. “We get more visitors than the Black Bulls. That’s one of the Recovery Mages from the infirmary. And he’s a tailor come to see about repairing the robes,”

The Recovery Mage was staring at Finral, so Langris glared back until he averted his eyes and hurried away muttering under his breath. 

“Do you know everyone, Langris?” Finral asked. “You’re wonderful.”

Yuno smiled a little at Langris’s bemused expression. “He’s got low expectations,” Yuno whispered.

“He lives with the Black Bulls,” Langris whispered back. “What do you expect?”

“Hey, my brother’s on that squad.”

“So is mine.”

“What’s that building?” Finral asked, oblivious to their whispered conversation above his head.

“That’s the library,” Langris said. 

“Wow. And what’s that one?”

Yuno let himself fall behind a little to let the brothers continue their conversation. Finral asked about each building they passed and Langris had relaxed enough to answer in more than one word. They passed more squad members and tradesmen, but now Langris was focused on his brother and barely acknowledged their presence. Langris’s accommodation was beyond the rest of the other rooms, so they spotted Klaus at his window with his head bent over his books. “Who’s that?” 

The window was open, so the unexpected child’s voice attracted Klaus’s attention. His confusion at seeing his Vice Captain with a small boy was overtaken by his wonder when he realised who the boy was. Finral gave a small wave. Klaus beamed and waved back, then returned to his report. He, at least, knew not to overwhelm the kid on his first visit.

Langris hesitated at the three flights of stairs up to his room, but Finral was now confident enough to be a little ahead. He was already on the steps when Langris paused.

“Am I going the right way?” Finral asked. 

“Yes. Be careful on the stairs.”

Finral stared at his brother, then narrowed his eyes in a suddenly very adult expression of disdain. “It was one time. And I bet Magna pushed me, even though he says he didn’t. Come on.”

And he scampered up the stairs ahead of them.

By the time Yuno and Langris reached the top, Finral was bouncing on his toes and looking at the array of doors in front of him. “Which one is yours? Is your room here too, Yuno?”

Yuno glanced at Langris. Perhaps the boy did not have to know that Yuno had mostly moved into Langris’s room. The majority of the Golden Dawn did not know. “Nearby,” Yuno said.

“Does Bell stay with you?” 

“Usually,” Langris muttered. 

Well, it wasn’t going to stay secret from the squad if Langris kept saying things like that. 

Langris pointed out his door and moved to open it. He was frowning, and Yuno recognised another sudden attack of nerves. As if Finral was going to be anything other than delighted to see his brother’s room no matter what it looked like. 

Yuno was right. Finral bounced into the room as soon as the door was opened. His impressed ‘oo’s’ and ‘ah’s’ reassured Langris and soon Finral was asking about the books and papers and various magical paraphernalia that they had accumulated. He was too small to be suspicious that Yuno answered almost as often as Langris. 

He admired the view from the window to the quadrangle beyond Klaus's accommodation block. Finral’s eyes grew wide as he spotted the tree at the Main entrance. It was huge, as befitting a squad with a World Tree magic user as its Captain. The leaves were green and silver and fluttered in the breeze. The wind was just right so that when Langris cracked the window the heady scent of the forest reached them. “Is that where William said we were to go?” he asked. “The tree is his magic.”

“How did you know that?”

The boy shivered as he watched the tree. “It feels like him. Don’t you feel it too?”

He was very good. How could a child with the mana sense to tell something like that over such a distance ever be told that his magic was worthless? 

“Yes, it’s William’s magic,” Langris explained. “World Tree magic.”

Finral did not take his eyes away from the tree as Langris explained William’s unique power. When he finished, Finral asked, “Can we go in the tree? Would that be okay?”

Langris looked horrified for a moment, so Yuno said, “I think that might be what William had in mind. Especially if he talked to Yami. We can ask him.”

“That would be wonderful. In the trees is my favourite place. I can go so high that no one can ever reach me.” 

The boy was still enraptured with the view from the window so he did not notice Langris had gone very pale again. Yuno remembered Langris’s description of Finral climbing on the furniture when they were young. When their father caught him, he would use a rope in an attempt to stop him. Yuno glanced at the child’s ankle without meaning to. There had been a rope around his ankle when they found him in the tower too. Yuno recalled the panic in Langris’s voice when he demanded that Yuno remove it.

Finral continued, oblivious to the thoughts of the others, “Yami takes me to the roof sometimes. I found my magic up there. But he says I mustn’t go by myself, so the trees are good. I like being up high.”

“I know,” Langris said. 

To Yuno’s relief the boy moved back to the rest of the room as though what he said had not been of any importance. Yuno worried that the progress they had made in getting Langris to settle down might have been lost. Finral asked about the small framed picture of the Golden Dawn, and then a short letter on the desk. The latter belonged to Yuno, the former was Langris’s. Finral wanted to know who the letter was to, and then asked about the children in the church in Hage. Yuno did not rush the explanation so that by the time Finral was looking under the bed at the matching pairs of slippers, Langris had regained his equilibrium. 

It took far longer than the size of the room might have suggested for Finral to explore it to his satisfaction. Yuno got the impression that he was inspecting it to confirm it was acceptable for his brother. It was reassuring that it seemed to meet those standards. Once there was nothing else to ask about, he climbed onto the edge of the bed beside his brother and pointed to the picture. “Who is everyone?” 

Langris pointed out all the knights. If he was impolite about someone, Finral would scold him. Yuno leaned against the desk and watched. For brief glimpses he saw something of Langris as a child in his responses to his brother. ‘Well, he is annoying, I can’t help that.’ 

Finral glanced out the window when Langris finished his explanation. Yuno said, “I think William should be at the quadrangle now.”

The boy jumped down. “Can we go?”

Langris’s effort to look enthusiastic was so pathetic it was funny. Yuno came to Finral’s rescue. “William is our Captain, we better go. Shouldn’t we Langris?”

“I suppose.”

Finral whooped for delight and hurried for the door. “Some enthusiasm?” Yuno hissed.

“He’s going to climb the tree. He fell down stairs.”

“He said he was pushed.”

Langris watched Finral struggle with the door handle. “He wasn’t pushed. He’s got the coordination of a baby deer.”

“I like baby deer,” Finral declared when he got the door open.

“Don’t run on the stairs!”

Finral slowed down a little for his brother’s benefit. 

They managed down the stairs without incident and Langris had started to breathe again when they opened the main door. Finral hurried ahead.

Later, Yuno would wonder what would have happened if they had left the room earlier and missed them. Or if they had stayed a little longer and Langris could have stopped them at his door.

Instead, they met them beyond the accommodation block. It could not have been a worse moment. Finral was rounding the corner when he froze. One second he was jogging, the next his entire body went rigid. Yuno’s first thought was it must be a spell because the effect was so profound.

Then he heard what had triggered the reaction. A man’s voice. It sounded unremarkable and the words were benign. “... sure there is a reasonable reason that he’s not been in touch…”

But Langris’s reaction was as visceral as his brother’s. He said, “Oh shit. No,” and ran to Finral.

Yuno ran too.

The man who turned the corner was a middle aged minor noble with what seemed to be his wife. They both had light brown hair and haughty expressions. They were talking together even though the man’s voice was loud enough to carry. Yuno had never seen them before, but a dread settled in him. He thought he knew who these people were.

Langris reached Finral at the same time as the couple spotted them.

“Ah, Langris, dear,” the woman said. 

Shit, shit, shit, thought Yuno. This was bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger? I'm sorry. But only a little bit. You knew it couldn't go smoothly, didn't you?


	3. Chapter 3

Langris positioned himself between the couple and Finral. The man said, “Ah, there you are, son. We were coming to visit...”

The man stopped as he saw who was behind Langris legs and his mouth fell open.

Langris rose to his full height. He was shorter than the man and woman, but presence had never been something that Langris lacked. “Why are you here?” he demanded. Yuno did not think that he had ever heard him use that tone of voice before. He was furious, but more than that. He was afraid. Langris had never sounded afraid before.

“We came to visit you, dear,” the woman said. She was looking at Langris. At her son. 

Yuno crouched in front of Finral. He had to turn his face so that the boy was looking towards him. He did not resist. “Finral,” Yuno said.

“Is that…?” The man could not complete his question. 

Finral began to tremble under Yuno’s hands. 

“Yuno,” Langris said. “Take him away.”

“Langris.”

“Please. Yuno. Please take him away.”

“Is that Finral?” the man asked. Their father asked.

“What?” the woman said. “What are you talking about Ledior? How could that be…” Then she stopped as the truth of the situation dawned on her. 

“Now, please, Yuno,” Langris said again. He was pleading, Yuno thought. “I will deal with this, but he can’t be here.”

“How can he be here?” Liliane Vaude nearly screeched “How can he be like that?”

Yuno lifted Finral into his arms. He did not make any move to resist or help. It was like lifting a mouse that was petrified under the eye of the hawk. His pants were wet. “Finral,” he said again. He was trying to offer some kind of reassurance, but the boy did answer. It was if he never heard him speak.

Liliane was still talking. “Explain. Langris. How can he be like that? Explain.”

“Mother. Stop talking,” Langris snapped. Then, to Yuno, “Get him out of here.”

Yuno did not want to leave. He could feel the tension rolling off Langris. This was going to end badly if he did not control his anger and fear. Yuno wanted to help. But Langris was correct. Finral could not be here. He was already breathing too fast and Yuno could feel his heart racing. 

“I’m going to take him to Klaus,” Yuno said. He could leave Finral with the other Knight, then return to back up Langris.

Langris turned away from his parents and stared at Yuno. His eyes were very wide and his face was almost as pale as Finral’s. “Stay with him. Don’t leave him with someone he doesn’t know.”

Yuno wanted to protest that Finral did not know him. The only person he knew was Langris. Except his parents, and Yuno had listened to enough of Langris’s soul searching to know why that did not count. 

“Please,” Langris said. 

Yuno gave a nod. He carried the boy towards the accommodation block door and the quickest way into Klaus’s room. Yuno hoped he would still be there.

Langris and his parents were silent as Yuno walked away. When he opened the door, Ledior hissed, “Langris. That was Finral…” Finral shook in Yuno’s arms but made no attempt to move closer. The voices were cut off as the door closed behind them. 

The noise from outside had alerted Klaus through his open window. He already had his door open when Yuno reached it. He took in Yuno, the terrified boy in his arms and said, quite eloquently, “Oh shit. His parents are here.”

Yuno nodded. 

Klaus stood back to let Yuno enter.

He put the boy down, where he stood very still and trembled without showing any sign of awareness of the men in the room with him. His expression was far away. Yuno thought he was trapped in some memory that his father and stepmother had triggered. 

Through the window came the sound of raised voices. 

“I don’t understand this magic. Explain what happened, Langris.”

“It’s what it looks like, father. You can see…”

The voices broke into Finral’s fugue state as nothing else had. He whimpered and began to search the room. “Finral,” Yuno said. “It’s Yuno. I’m Langris’s friend.”

The voices outside swelled again, and now Yuno felt his own heart racing. He wanted to be with Langris, facing down his parents’ threat. But he had promised not to leave Finral. 

“What do you need?” Klaus asked.

“Get William. He was going to meet us in the quadrangle. Take him to Langris.”

From outside; “Well of course he’ll have to come home with us.”

Klaus nodded. He said, “There are clean clothes in the dresser. Take what you need.” As he left he shut the window and muffled the sounds from outside. 

“Finral,” Yuno said again. 

This time there was a response, just not one Yuno had hoped for. The boy looked at him with wide panicked eyes and stumbled backwards into Klaus’s bed. Baby deer, Langris had said. Now Finral looked like a baby deer that had seen a hunter’s knife. Yuno stayed back and let the child retreat into the corner of the room. He was so pale that it was not a surprise when the shaking became worse. Yuno grabbed the waste bin full of papers and thrust it under the boy’s face to catch the vomit. He vomited until he was dry retching and his eyes full of tears.

Yuno wanted to gather him up in his arms. It was what he would have done for any of his siblings in Hage when they were sick. But when he put a gentle hand on Finral’s shoulder after he emptied his stomach, he flinched so badly that he knocked the bin away. 

Once the retching had subsided, Yuno put the bin outside the door, then considered how to deal with the shivering, urine and vomit stained child. He needed a bath, but there was no way Yuno felt confident doing that given in this state of terror. Trying to change his clothes would probably be met with resistance too. He took a blanket from Klaus’s bed and draped it over the boy’s shoulders. Even that made him flinch and his breathing speed up. It took a long time for the breathing to slow even a little and he made no move to pull the blanket closer. 

This did not feel or even look like the same child that had run up the stairs ahead of them. This was a small, broken thing. His eyes flickered around the room and his hand kept rubbing against his ankle as though checking that there was nothing there. He murmured sometimes, but the only clear word was ‘sorry’. He did not acknowledge that Yuno was there. 

Even through the closed window, Yuno could hear the raised voices, but now it was impossible to distinguish them from each other or what they were saying. 

“Finral. I’m going to find you something to wear if you want to take off those clothes before we go back to see Yami.” Perhaps mentioning Yami’s name would remind the kid who they were going home to. There was still no response.

Yuno began to root through Klaus’s clothes for anything small enough for the kid to wear. There was a sweater that would reach beyond his knees. He pulled it out and placed it on the bed.

“I’m gonna leave this here. You can put it on if you want. Or use the blanket. Langris will be back soon and then we’ll go home.” 

There was still no response. Yuno was starting to worry. He could understand that the kid was afraid. He had listened to Langris describe what the kid had lived through, and although it was fifteen years ago in reality, it was less than six weeks in Finral’s memories. But this seemed more than fear. It was as if his mind had retreated behind a wall. Maybe they needed to see Owen.

“I’ll sit here. I can help if you want.”

Still nothing. He could no longer hear the raised voices from outside. He hoped that meant that Ledior and Liliane had gone, or at least that Klaus had fetched William and the Captain was now in control. Langris was not emotionally ready to have this kind of showdown with his parents. If he ever would be.

Yuno resisted the urge to open the window again so he could hear what was being said. He might want to know, but the priority was the kid. It was hard waiting because he wanted to help. Langris’s voice in his head reminded him that he was being trusted with Finral. Not that it seemed to be doing any good. The kid was wearing soiled clothes and shivering. 

There was nothing else to do. Yuno waited.

The knock at the door was polite and quiet. Yuno thought it had been about half an hour. Finral had made no attempt to change his clothes, but he had pulled the blanket around himself.

Yuno went to the door. He pulled it open a little to be sure who was on the other side. William had knocked. Langris stood alongside, with Klaus a little out of the way. Langris was almost as pale as his brother, but there were two high points of colour on his cheeks. His eyes were very wide and his fists were clenched against his thighs. His mana was barely under control. 

He looked ready to burst into the room, but Yuno said, “Wait. You have to calm down Langris. He’s really upset. At least, I think so.”

“What do you mean?” Langris demanded. 

“He’s not spoken. I don’t know if he knows I’m here. But you have to calm down Langris. You’re going to make it worse.”

Langris scowled and made no attempt to calm himself. If anything he looked more angry.

“Tell me what is happening Yuno. Before I blow up the door.”

William said, “Langris. Yuno is right. This is already bad enough. Finral needs you to be calm.”

Langris transferred his glare to William, but at least he tried to take a deep breath. Yuno took the chance to glance back at Finral. The child was still in the same position and his gaze far away.

“He won’t let me near him. And he hasn’t said a word or even looked at me. He was sick.” He waved a hand at the bin outside the door. “I didn’t want to make him change because he flinches whenever I touch him. He needs to go home.”

“Agreed,” William said.

“I need to see,” said Langris. He was making an effort to bring the mana back under control, but the fear and anger were radiating off him. 

William looked at him and sighed. “It might help Finral to see you too. Klaus, please use my communicator to ask the infirmary spatial mage to open us another portal when their current visitors have been returned home. If Owen is available it would be useful if he could meet us, but it will be a short check up. We’ll need another portal to the Bulls' Hideout straightaway.”

Klaus nodded and took the communicator disc. 

“Yuno, tell Finral that we are coming in.”

“I don’t know if he can hear me, Sir.”

“Telling him is still important. We will wait a moment.”

Langris looked like he might want to disagree, then stopped himself. Yuno congratulated himself on sending Klaus to get William. He was the best one to hold Langris back in any mood, but like this he was the only one who had a chance. 

The boy was still in the corner. He had pulled the blanket around himself. It was going to be as soiled as his clothes at this rate. He was still white and shuddered occasionally to some trigger that Yuno could not recognise. He had bitten his lips and they were bloody where he kept worrying them. He did not look at Yuno, but it felt like he might be listening in the same way a hunted animal strains to hear where the threat is going to come from.

“Finral. Langris is here. And William. You met him earlier. I’m going to let them in. There isn’t anyone else with them. We’re going to get you back home.”

Still no response, but by this time Yuno was not expecting one. He returned to the door and let William and Langris enter. 

Langris had made an effort to slow his breathing, but he still looked ready to explode. His mana had settled a little. He pushed his way in and Yuno worried for a moment he was going to rush at the boy. But he stilled when he saw Finral. For a moment the similarity between them both was clear. Freezing was their instinctive reaction to a threat.

William noted the reaction. He approached the boy and knelt down in front of him the same way that Yuno had. “Finral. I’m William. We met a little while ago. We are going to take you back home to Yami and Vanessa and Luck and Magna.”

Perhaps there was the barest reaction to Luck and Magna’s names. 

“I’m going to get Yuno to pick you up again. You can ask us to stop any time. We’re going in a portal to the infirmary, then back to Luck and Magna.” William had spotted the reaction too. 

“He’s in a mess,” Langris said.

“Yami will understand.” William nodded at Yuno. Yuno bent down, and as gently as he could he reached down to the child. He tensed and his breathing sped up, but he did not resist. It took a moment for Yuno to settle the boy onto his hip as he made no effort to help.

“Yami is going to kill me,” Langris whispered. 

“Yami will understand,” William said again. “This could not have been helped. I will warn him when we are at the infirmary. Owen can check that Finral is safe to go back to Luck and Magna.”

Now that Yuno was holding Finral, he could feel the boy’s breathing catch at the other two children’s names. William was repeating them because they were the only thing that might be offering any reassurance.

Yuno felt the tug of the portal in the courtyard. Klaus had even specified the accommodation block rather than the usual spot beside the World Tree. William led the way, with Yuno behind and then Langris following. Finral’s eyes were squeezed shut. He was murmuring again. Yuno thought only he could hear the words. “Sorry, sorry. Luck and Magna. Going to Luck and Magna.”

“Yes. We’re going to get Luck and Magna,” Yuno said, but there was no answer. 

Klaus was outside. He handed the communicator back to William. “They’re ready for you, Sir,” he reported. 

“Thank you Klaus.”

Yuno glanced back at Langris. He was just as tense as his brother. His eyes flickered to the corner of the building where they had met their parents, then back to the portal again. 

Finral shivered as they crossed the threshold of the portal to the warm atrium of the infirmary. The duty spatial mage’s eyes widened as he recognised the mop of brown hair in Yuno’s arms. Spatial magic was rare, and the story of the Bulls’ spatial magic user who was now a child had done the rounds. “Owen is on his way, Sir,” the mage said to William. “I can make a portal to the Black Bulls’ base at your instruction.”

“Thank you. We’ll speak to Owen first.”

Owen was hurrying around the corner to meet them. He took in the child, then Langris. He turned to William for an explanation. “What happened?”

William addressed Finral again first. “Finral. Yuno is going to take you to sit nearby while Langris and I talk to Owen. You know Owen. We shan’t be too long. We’ll get back to Luck and Magna very soon. You can see us if you need to.” 

To do that, Finral would need to open his eyes. He made no sign of hearing William, but Yuno thought some of the stiffness might be easing. It was probably because the kid was exhausted, but perhaps knowing that his father and stepmother were not nearby helped. Yuno sat on one of the out of the way benches, where he could watch William talk to Owen. Langris was silent beside them. He was tense, and flicked between watching the two older men then his brother. 

Owen usually had an impenetrable poker face but horror passed over his expression as William spoke. He glanced first at Finral, then at Langris. He asked a couple of questions that William answered with a nod. Langris did not respond. They finished their conversation and William and Langris returned. Owen spoke briefly to the spatial mage, then went back into the warren of corridors.

“Finral, Yuno,” William said. “Owen says it is most important to get you home. He can come and do anything that needs to be done when you are there with Yami, and Luck and Magna. He’s going to tell Yami what happened, and then we are going to go back through the portal to the Bulls’ base.”

Again, only Luck and Magna’s names caused a reaction. They sat in silence for five minutes until Owen returned. He said, “He knows. He needs a couple of minutes to get everyone out of the way, then you're good to go.” 

Those couple of minutes seemed to stretch as Langris’s anxiety level escalated. His mana was almost as out of control as it had been at the door to Klaus’s room when William said, “Langris. Breathe. It’s going to be okay.”

Anyone else saying that to Langris would have found themselves full of spatial magic holes. But this was William. Langris made an effort to bring his breathing and mana back under control again. 

“It really isn’t okay,” he said quietly once he could talk.

“I know,” William said. “But it will be.”

\--

They stepped through the portal onto the lawn in front of the Bulls’ base. Yuno had expected the boy in his arms to relax, but if anything he became more tense. What was he thinking that coming back home made him more upset?

Yami met them at the door. Luck was holding his hand and fiddling with the hem of his shirt. 

Yuno said, “Luck’s here. With Yami.”

Finral reacted this time, but it was not what Yuno had expected. Instead of clambering down to reach Yami, the boy tucked himself into Yuno for the first time. He hid his face into the blanket. He was still shaking, but Yuno thought it might be quiet sobs.

Yami said, “Shit, Owen wasn't exaggerating was he.”

“I’m afraid not,” said William. 

“He wouldn’t let me get him changed,” Yuno said. “I didn’t want to force him.”

“Good call, kid. That’d have made it worse. He’s funny about clothes.”

“Finral,” William said, “Yuno is going to give you to Yami now. He’s there with Luck.”

The resistance was token, but Yuno was not imagining the small arms that were now clinging to him. Yuno glanced at Yami in apology.

“Take your time kids. Hey, Luck, how about you go and see what Finral’s up to.”

Luck was more cautious than Yuno had ever seen him. He dropped Yami’s hand and tiptoed to Yuno’s side and put a hand on Finral’s foot. Finral flinched and buried harder into Yuno. Luck looked crestfallen and sadder than Yuno had ever seen. 

William said, “We aren’t in any hurry. Is waiting out here best, Yami?”

“Yeah. Let’s hang here for a bit.”

“Sir,” Yuno said. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. He’s really cold.”

“Damn. Never simple with you, is it Finral?” Yami put his hands out and Yuno loosened the boy's arms and then passed him over. “And what about you Langris? You look as pissy as this one.”

“I’m fine,” Langris snapped. “You should be worrying about Finral.” 

He was looking at everything except for his brother. 

Luck glared at Yami, with the expression that seemed to be reserved for someone who upset Langris. As tentatively as he had to Finral, Luck put out a hand and touched Langris’s.

That was too much. Langris choked back what might have been a sob, and turned away from Yami. “We need to go now, Sir,” he said to William, and walked back to the place the portal would appear.

William sighed and pulled out his communicator. “We will talk later,” he said to Yami.

“Good luck.” Yami was watching Langris’s retreating back. 

“Goodbye Finral,” Yuno said. The child was motionless in Yami’s arms. It seemed inadequate. He wanted to apologise, or in some way make things better. They’d had such a nice time before Ledior and Liliane’s appearance. But what else could he say? He followed Langris and William into the portal as it flickered into existence.


	4. Chapter 4

They stepped through the portal to the World Tree at the Golden Dawn. Klaus was sitting with Mimosa on one of the benches at its base. They jumped up as the portal closed. 

“Langris,” Klaus said. Worry was plain on his face.

“I need you to leave me alone,” Langris snapped. Then he turned to Yuno. “All of you. Don’t come anywhere near me. You’re not welcome.”

He strode away. Yuno started to follow, but William put a restraining hand on his shoulder. “Give him some time.”

“Yes sir.”

“Not too much though. You understand Yuno?”

Yuno was watching Langris. Even at this distance he looked tense. Shit. What a mess. "Yes, sir." 

“Good. I need to report to the Wizard King. There may be preparations required. Thank you for your assistance.” 

“Klaus,” Yuno demanded when William was gone. “You have to tell me everything they said.”

“I didn’t catch much when I went to get William," Klaus replied. "They seemed to be trying to work out why Finral was a child. Langris was explaining, but they weren't listening. William was waiting for you at the tree and came as soon as I asked. When we got back Langris’s magic was off the scale. He was barely keeping it under control. He had his grimoire out. Langris never takes out his grimoire.”

“I heard them say that they wanted to take Finral back with them.”

"That's what they were saying when William and I got there. They said that Finral had to come with them." 

Mimosa gasped. “They can’t take him.”

Klaus pushed his glasses up his nose. “Legally, they may have a case. After all, he is their son. The court nearly always rules that a child is better off with his parents.”

“You don’t think that Klaus,” Yuno said. He could not help the threat in his voice.

“Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. I heard what Langris said happened when they were children. I’m just saying that the court might say that a magic knight squad is not the best place for a child. Especially not the Black Bulls.”

“They’d be wrong.”

“Yuno. I know. I know that Finral needs to stay with the Bulls. But we have to know what his parents might do so that we can plan. Why do you think William is going to speak to the Wizard King?”

Yuno took a breath. Klaus was right. Langris was not in a place to protect his brother at the moment. That left his team and they needed information.

“Tell me the rest.”

“William spoke to Langris first. His parents should have been afraid, but I don’t think they understood the danger they were in. I didn't hear what William said to him, but Langris brought his magic under control. If that hadn’t worked, then I think we might have needed to evacuate most of the area. 

“Then he stood in front of Langris, and told his parents that they needed to leave. He was polite, like always, but there was no arguing. The father was ready to go. He looked ill. But his mother wanted to know what had happened, and why was Finral like that. And also what he said. I thought it was strange. Why would she want to know what he’d said?”

“She wants to know if Finral told anyone what happened to him,” Yuno guessed.

“I think so too. Because then she said horrible things about him. That he was a liar who couldn’t be trusted. Langris nearly lost it again. She said that she understood if people believed Finral, but that he was a confused child who might damage Langris’s prospects.”

“That makes no sense,” Mimosa said. “Even if he was still an adult, how could he do that?”

“William told her to stop talking. I think even Ledior was trying to get her to stop by then. He was trying to pull her away, but she wouldn’t stop. Alecdora had heard the disturbance and came over. William said that he thought it best that the Vaudes left for the moment to let things cool down. He told Alecdora to arrange a portal back to Tota via the infirmary spatial mage.”

“For people who despise spatial magic as a means of transportation, they don’t mind making use of it.”

“I noticed that too, Mimosa. Langris had it under control, until his mother said that we’d be hearing from the court immediately, and that we couldn’t keep a child away from his parents. Alecdora had to drag her away before Langris lost it.”

“That’s terrible,” Mimosa said. “They always seemed like such polite people. No wonder Langris is so irritable. What happened to Finral?”

“Nothing,” Yuno said. “He wouldn’t answer me. He hardly even noticed I was there. He’d wet himself, and then he threw up. Every time I tried to get close he flinched like I was going to hurt him. He wouldn’t even go to Yami.”

“Poor thing.”

“That was only seeing those people. He was so afraid. He cannot go with them. We have to stop it.”

“William won’t let them take him,” said Klaus. “And can you imagine what Captain Yami would do if anyone came near Finral. The Captains have it under control.”

“It’s not only that they can’t take him Klaus. They can’t come near him. The kid was catatonic. And I’ve never seen Langris like that.”

“So what do we do?” Mimosa asked.

“William has a plan. You need to speak to him and find out how we can help. I’ll stay with Langris.”

“He’s not going to like that.”

“I don’t care. William said not too much time. This is long enough.”

“You don’t have to do it on your own,” Klaus said. “We could help keep an eye on him.”

Yuno did not answer. Mimosa was more observant than their senior. “I’m sure Yuno is the best person to do that job, Klaus. I’m sure Langris would get irritated with you or me.”

“He could get irritated with Yuno too.”

“Yes. But… ”

“I can deflect his magic if he decides to attack me,” Yuno said. Klaus looked unconvinced.

Mimosa smiled. “And Yuno’s no good at diplomacy. William might need our help and Yuno’s too rude to speak to most people.”

“That is true.”

Yuno mouthed ‘thank you’ to Mimosa as they walked to Langris’s room. She gave him a thumbs up when Klaus was not watching.

The door was closed, and Langris refused to answer when Yuno first knocked, then slammed his hand against it. “Let me in Langris,” he said.

“Go away, Yuno.”

“No. Open the door.”

“Leave me alone,” Langris snapped back.

Why did he always make things difficult? “I’m going to sit out here until you let me in.” Yuno sat on the floor with his back to the door and his arms crossed.

“Are you really going to do that?” Klaus whispered.

“Yes. You’re going to have to bring me food.”

Klaus looked confused, but no closer to working out what was going on.

“I’ll bring cushions,” Mimosa said.

“Then go and speak to William.”

Yuno was glad of Mimosa's cushions. The corridor was chilly and uncomfortable.

After an hour of no change from the room, Yuno wished he had asked Mimosa and Klaus to fetch him a book or two when they brought food. There were occasional noises from inside. Once there was the crash of something heavy. “That better not be something of mine,” Yuno called. 

“Go away, Yuno.”

“No. Don’t break my stuff.”

When Klaus and Mimosa returned they were both wearing serious expressions. Yuno glared at them until Mimosa said, “William has a plan.”

She settled down on Yuno’s right side. Klaus sat across the corridor. 

“You don’t look happy about it,” Yuno said.

“We have to prove what happened to Finral and Langris when they were children.” Klaus pushed his glasses up his nose.

“That’s easy. We ask them.”

“It’s not that simple. The Vaudes work fast. Look.” 

Mimosa handed over a piece of paper. It was a copy of an original that must still be in William’s possession. It was addressed to the Captain of the Black Bulls.

 _It has come to our attention that our beloved son was affected by a magical mishap while serving as a Magic Knight with the Black Bulls. We understand this happened more than six weeks ago._

_We are willing to overlook the delay in informing his loving family on the understanding that he is returned to our custody immediately. As predicated in law, a child is best cared for by his parents. All right minded citizens would agree that a Magic Knight Squad is ill-equipped to meet the needs of a vulnerable child compared to his doting family, particularly one with the standing and prestige of the Vaude name._

_There may have been unusual effects of such powerful magic on our son’s body and on his recollection of his early years. This may have influenced those around him, for he always was a child ruled by his emotions and not hard truth. Let it be assured that he was most lovingly cared for and brought up._

_If our son is not returned to our property within forty eight hours then we will have no choice but to bring down the full force of the law and have the child removed from his currently unsuitable abode. In such cases the law will undoubtedly, as it has in the past, side with the family. We look forward to our son’s return to his home._

_Liliane and Ledior Vaude._

“Shit,” Yuno said. “They don’t even say his name.”

“William intercepted the letter. The Bulls don’t know about this. They can’t know.”

“Agreed. They’d kill them. What’s William’s plan?”

“We find evidence of what happened to Finral and Langris so that the Vaudes give up. We have to prove that we already know what they did and we can prove it.”

“Like I said, that’s easy. Speak to Finral and Langris. They’ll tell them what happened.”

Mimosa shook her head. “Do you really think someone should go and speak to Finral about this? He shut down when he saw his parents and we still don’t know if he’s okay. And they’re seeding doubt about Langris’s veracity in the letter. They’re going to try to claim that Finral is a liar and he’s influencing his brother.”

“What about the bruises? The marks on his ankles. The scars. He’s not lying about that.”

“They’re claiming it’s the magic. 'There may have been unusual effects of such powerful magic on our son’s body'," she quoted. "They are going to pretend that the spell caused the injuries.”

Yuno let his head rest on the door. “Shit,” he said again.

“Even if they don’t take him away from the Bulls, they are going to be able to see him while this goes through legal hoops.”

"Where do we get the evidence?”

“You don’t. You stay here and look after Langris. William was insistent.” Mimosa’s tone of voice made it clear that William knew why Yuno was the one to do that job. “Me and Klaus are going to speak to the Wizard King. William can’t be seen to be directly involved, but he’s set up the meetings for us. He thinks the older Knights could be followed, but no one’s likely to check up on us. We have two days before someone turns up at the Bulls.”

“It’s not much time,” Klaus said. “But we’ll find something.”

“I want to help,” Yuno said. 

Mimosa put a hand on his arm. “You are helping. Look after Langris. Now Klaus, go and fetch dinner and bring some for Langris.”

“He isn’t going to take it,” Yuno said once Klaus left. He knew that Langris would not eat if he was stressed like this.

“I know. But we have to give him the chance.” She fiddled with her sleeve. “Are you okay, Yuno?”

“Langris is going to be destroyed if Finral has to see his parents again. He already thinks this is all his fault.”

“That’s how Langris is. How are you?”

Yuno stared at her. “I’m fine. Why would I not be fine?”

“He’s your boyfriend, isn’t he?”

So she did know. “Not for long. And I’m not much good am I? He won’t let me in the door.”

“But he hasn’t stopped you from sitting out here. He’ll come round. And he needs you.”

“I know.”

Like he had needed him when they learned what had really happened during his childhood. Like when they had rescued Finral from the tower. But then Yuno had been in the door. He wasn’t even in the same room any more. He closed his eyes to try to let the frustration ease. 

“He’s so difficult. Why won’t he let me help?”

“You’ve met his parents.”

“Only for a minute, then he sent me away.”

“Yuno. He sent you away with the most precious thing in his world. He trusts you more than anyone. Give him a little longer.

“Yeah. I know.”

When Klaus returned they ate their food on the floor at Langris’s door. Yuno’s knock got another, “Go away,” from inside the room. Klaus took the dirty plates and Langris’s uneaten portion back to the kitchen when they finished. Mimosa brought some blankets and warmer clothes for Yuno, then said goodbye. They were off to accidentally bump into the Wizard King while on a walk through the Vermillion gardens.

Yuno settled down for the night. 

He did not think Langris was going to relent until tomorrow, so when the door opened in the cold dark of the early hours, Yuno was dozing.

“Are you going to lie out here all night?” Langris asked. He was silhouetted against the moonlight from the window so Yuno could not make out his expression.

“Someone told me to go away.”

“Well, you’re an idiot for still being here, aren’t you.”

“I guess.”

Yuno made no move to get off the floor. 

Langris sighed. “Are you going to come in?”

“Do you want me to?”

“I opened the door, didn’t I. Sleep on the floor all night for all I care.”

Yuno grinned and levered himself up. He brought Mimosa’s blankets, but left the cushions. “I suppose I could come in.”

Langris sniffed and stood back to let Yuno enter, then closed the door behind them. 

There was a long silence. Langris stood awkwardly against the door and looked at the floor. “I messed up so bad,” he whispered eventually. He was holding Finral’s woolen hat. 

Yuno moved slowly and deliberately. Langris was inclined to startle if he was distracted and people moved too quickly. It made him look prickly and standoffish, but it was really other people not taking proper care. Yuno put his arms out and waited for Langris to come to him. It only took a second for him to tuck himself into Yuno’s embrace. “It wasn’t your fault. You know that, don’t you?” Yuno said quietly.

Langris did not answer, but leaned in. He gave a small choked sob.

“Come on. You need to sleep.” Yuno nudged him to the bed. It was as unslept in as it had been when Finral had looked underneath it to find matching slippers this afternoon.

“Can’t.”

“It’s okay. Just come and lie down.”

Langris lay in Yuno’s arms, his face wet with tears. He was awake when Yuno dozed off, and still wide eyed when the sun rose.

What a mess.

Someone knocked on the door. Mimosa’s voice was muffled, “Langris. Yuno. Are you there? We brought breakfast.”

“Tell them to go away,” Langris muttered. 

Yuno sighed. This was going to be as bad as the last time. “I’m going to get us breakfast. You don’t have to eat it.”

“I won’t.”

“You’re more of a child than your brother, you know that.”

Langris faced the wall and put his hands over his ears, perhaps proving Yuno's point. Yuno pulled on his slippers and a clean shirt and went to the door. 

“He let you in?” Mimosa said. “When? How?”

Yuno shrugged. “During the night. I didn’t think he would. He never slept though. Do you have food?”

She handed over a paper bag of pastries from the dining room and a small flask of coffee. 

Klaus said, “He never slept at all? Maybe you should speak to Owen. You know he said that the sleeping tablets would be better in the future.”

“I’m going to see what happens today and tonight.” Owen had said that Langris’s habit of not sleeping when under stress needed to be caught earlier. The idea of taking Finral out in the had already messed up his sleeping even before last night. Last time, Yuno and Klaus had got him drunk, but Owen seemed to think this was not the healthiest way to get Langris to sleep.

Yuno slipped out of the door, but kept one foot in it to prevent it closing. He did not think that Langris would close it on him again, but it was better to be prepared. “How did you get on with the Wizard King?”

Mimosa glanced at Klaus. “He thinks William is right. We have to stop this before it even gets to the Bulls. But he didn’t have any direct evidence either. He said that he met their parents at a party when Langris was seven. He asked about Finral, and Ledior denied he had another son. Finral said later that he was beaten because of it. But it’s still only Finral’s word. He won’t remember it now.”

“What are you going to do then?”

Klaus pulled out a piece of paper. “Marx found old members of staff from their estate. Some of them are in the city. We’ve got to see if anyone is prepared to make an official statement about what happened. But...”

“But the Vaudes are rich and powerful,” Mimosa continued. “The Wizard King thinks some of them may have been paid to stay quiet.”

Yuno glanced back into the room. Langris had not moved. His hands were still over his ears. 

“Will you be okay here? We asked David to bring you some lunch if we’re not back.”

“Thanks. We’ll be okay. It’s not so different from last time.”

But it felt different to last time. This time Langris thought he was responsible.

“One of us can sit with him later,” Klaus offered.

“It’s fine. He’s going to be angry. Better leave him to me.”

Klaus looked unconvinced, but Mimosa put a hand on his arm. “It’s fine Klaus. I’m sure Yuno is the best person. He’ll tell us if he needs help.”

“Sure.”

Klaus’s expression did not change, but he allowed himself to be guided away by Mimosa. Yuno mouthed, ‘thank you’ again. 

Yuno closed the door and watched Langris for a moment. This was the same reaction as Finral’s. The brothers were nothing alike in personality even as adults. But the closer Yuno got to Langris, the clearer it was that he had as many hang ups as his older brother. Probably more.

Yuno sat back and ate his breakfast. He left coffee for Langris, and some of the pastries, even though he knew that Langris was never going to eat them. He wondered if Finral did the same.

He had nothing to do all morning. It was frustrating. He knew his friends were out trying to fix the problem. They were talking to people who could help. Yuno was stuck here, watching Langris in a funk. Langris would not speak to him and Yuno did not try to force him. Forcing Langris to do something he was not ready for was never going to to work.

David had dropped off lunch, and returned to collect Yuno’s empty plate and Langris’s uneaten portion before Langris spoke. “You shouldn’t be here, Yuno,” he said. His voice was hoarse.

Yuno pushed a glass of water across the table. “You should drink something.”

Langris ignored him. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said again. “I need it straight in my head.”

“I know. I’m not going anywhere though. My stuff’s all here.”

“Whatever.” But he pulled himself up to sit on the bed and curl over his knees. The lack of sleep was already telling with dark rings under his eyes. He was pale too. The trembling had not started yet, but he looked haunted. “You should probably take your stuff.”

“Nope. Sorry.”

“You saw what I did.”

“Damn, Langris. I saw your parents come round without telling you. I saw you protect your brother. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I shouldn’t have brought him here.”

“Well, we can agree on that, yes. We should have arranged another date. Or taken him to the park. But it wasn’t your fault.”

“Did you see what he looked like? I destroyed him.”

“Your parents did that. Not you.”

“Don’t you see though, Yuno. It doesn’t matter what they did. It was my fault that Finral was here. I thought I could do this. I should have known better. Even if it hadn’t been this time, my parents would have found out he was here. Or at the Bulls. I should have left him with Yami. I don’t think I can be his brother.”

“Langris. Stop it. You saw how excited he was to be here. He was having a good time before they showed up and broke it. Not you. Yami understands.”

“Yami is going to kill me. You never heard what they said. They want to take him back. They think they can shut him up in Tota. We can’t let them do that, but I don’t know what to do.”

“William has a plan.”

“We can’t tell Yami. He’ll kill them. He’s going to make it worse…” 

Shit. Langris had his arms tight around his legs and he was rocking in tight, constrained movements. His breathing was too fast. 

“Langris. Listen to me. William has a plan.” 

The agitation was not settling. Yuno could feel the mana tickling at his senses as Langris’s power responded to his distress. How the hell did William do this? 

Yuno moved slowly to sit on the bed. He sat as close to Langris as he could without touching him. “William has a plan.”

“She said he was a liar. She said he lied.”

“Shhh, Langris. We know Finral didn’t lie. He didn't tell anyone. William has a plan.”

“What happens if it doesn’t work?”

“It’ll work.” Slowly, Yuno put a hand on Langris’s arm. He was careful to make the touch heavy and deliberate, but Langris still jumped. He didn’t push the hand away though, so Yuno left it there. “It’s William’s plan. He’s got the Wizard King to help. It’ll work.”

“They can’t take him.”

“They won’t.” Yuno shuffled closer so they were side by side. “And if William’s plan doesn’t work, the Bulls will take him away. Hell, if we have to, you and I will take him away. He does not go back to Tota, Langris.”

“They can’t take him. They hurt him. It was my fault.” 

“It isn’t your fault. Come here.” Yuno put his arms around Langris and pulled him close. At first the rocking movements became worse and his whole body tightened as if he was ready to flee. But he wasn’t pushing Yuno away. This wasn’t the first time Yuno had talked him down from one of these. He couldn’t do it like William, who only needed to say, ‘breathe,’ or ‘calm down’ and Langris would respond. But once Yuno got close it was nearly always enough to wrap him in his arms.

There were no tears. It took time for Langris to relax, and Yuno found himself aching with the unnatural position. But when the rocking stopped and the breathing slowed a little, Yuno said, “You need to sleep.”

“Can’t.”

“It’s okay. We can speak to Owen. He said he’d help last time. Now let me get comfortable.”

“Don’t go.”

“I told you I wasn’t going to go. Idiot.” 

Yuno found a comfier position and this time when he tucked his arms around Langris, he relaxed properly. Yuno took a chance. He ran his fingers through Langris’s hair. He started, but it was only for an instant before he calmed again. Gradually his breathing slowed. Yuno thought he was already asleep when he said, “You think it’s going to be okay?”

“Sure. I told you. William’s got a plan. Go to sleep Langris.”

“Hmm.” And wonder of wonders, his eyes closed. 

Maybe Yuno was getting the hang of this after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The party that Julius tells Mimosa and Klaus about is the one in the first chapter of _Juggling Apples_. That party is important in more ways than any of them know yet. It will come up again.


	5. Chapter 5

Langris napped against Yuno for about an hour. He was disturbed by an insistent banging at the door. It stopped for a second, then someone pushed it open.

Yuno had not locked it. Even when Langris had forbade him entry, the door was never locked. Langris’s reputation meant that no one would dare to enter his room without permission, even if it was in his best interest. So whoever was opening the door had to know they were taking their life in their hands. Langris opened his eyes.

Oh, shit. Shit. Shit. On the other side was Liliane Vaude.

Yuno’s first instinct was to blow her out of the door, and possibly the whole building. His grimoire was out and he was pulled on the mana without thinking. He only stopped when he felt Langris’s hand on his arm. “Don’t.”

“Langris. She shouldn’t be here.” 

Langris looked dreadful. The short sleep had done nothing for the dark rings under his eyes or his pallor. His hair was sticking up at unnatural angles. Yuno thought he caught a momentary look of dread before he pulled on an expression of cold disdain. It was like a set of shutters being closed.

“Mother.”

“Langris, darling. I’ve been so worried.” She took a step forward, and Yuno pulled on his magic again. Langris might let her open the door, maybe even let her come into the room, but Yuno was going to be damned if she came any closer. She glanced at Yuno and said, “Oh, who is your little friend?”

Yuno folded his arms. He was a lot taller than Langris. 

“This is Yuno,” Langris said. “Why are you here?”

“Perhaps your friend could give us a moment to talk in private. Things became quite fraught yesterday.”

“No,” Yuno said. He sat on the desk chair and watched her. There was no way he was going to leave Langris with this woman, even if Langris tried to chase him out. It was the only chair in the room, so Liliane had to stand. She stared at Yuno for a moment. Yuno stared back.

“Why are you here, mother?” Langris asked again. 

With a last look at Yuno, she seemed to decide that the only way to deal with his presence was to ignore him. Yuno continued to glare at her. “I wanted to see how you were dear,” she said to Langris. “After our talk yesterday.”

“I’m fine. You should go home.”

“But some of the things you said, dear. It’s okay. Your father doesn’t know I’m here. He’s not feeling well, poor man. But it means we can talk in private.”

“I don’t think that is a good idea.”

“Nonsense. Some of the things you said yesterday were quite worrying.” Langris tried to interrupt, but she continued, “I needed to make sure that you understood properly. I wish someone had told us what had happened to your brother earlier, we could have saved all this unpleasantness.”

“Mother.”

“He obviously isn’t safe where he is. They never even told us what happened, Us, his parents. A magic knight squad. The worst magic knight squad, filled with criminals and delinquents and commoners. As if that would ever be a proper place for a child, especially one with issues, like your brother.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sure it’s obvious, dear, that Finral was... is a very troubled child. You spoke to him. He doesn’t behave like ordinary children. He was always inclined to flights of fancy. Why,” she gave a shrill laugh, “I’m not sure if he ever spoke a word of truth. He used to say the most unbelievable things about your father.”

Langris’s whole body was tense. “You said that he lied.”

“Why, yes, dear.” That laugh again. It set Yuno’s teeth on edge. “He didn’t seem to know the difference between truth and fancy. I imagine it’s still the same.”

“So when he said that father hit him? When father wouldn’t get the healers after his wounds were infected? When he said that father tied a rope around his ankle and wouldn’t take it off even though he pulled it so much that the skin bled?”

The laugh. It was a brittle, harsh thing. “Yes. Yes, Langris. That's what I mean. You mustn’t believe him when he says such things. You father and I love Finral dearly. We always kept him safe despite his deficiencies. Even though he wasn’t even my own son I…”

“He never said that stuff,” Langris said. Where his mother was teetering on the edge of hysteria, Langris was cold fury. “I remember those things. Finral never said a word.”

For a moment, Liliane’s face fell. Yuno thought he saw through her bravado to a terrified woman faced with losing her precious son. Later, he realised this was the final moment she had to reclaim her relationship with her son. Langris had given her the option. She could choose to acknowledge what Langris knew had happened. Somehow they could try to move beyond it, face the truth and rebuild something out of the lies they had told themselves. Or...

Her expression shifted, and she gave that laugh again. “Oh, darling. You see. I knew he shouldn’t be allowed to talk to you. He spreads such poisonous lies.”

And now Yuno could feel that dangerous flow of mana pulse through Langris.

“Mother. You need to leave. Now.”

“But, Langris. I wanted to tell you, we’re going to get him back home. We’ll make sure he knows we love him. We’ve got the best court advisors…”

“Get out.”

“Langris…” She took a step forward. It was as if she could not feel the power barely under Langris’s control. Yuno didn’t care if she got obliterated. She deserved it.

“You didn’t see the marks he left on him.”

“But the magic, dear. It was the magic. The lies....”

The mana was building so high that Yuno was not sure how Langris was containing it. He did not care if Liliane got obliterated, but he very much cared that Langris did not do something that he might regret. 

“He told you to leave,” Yuno said. A small burst of wind sent her through the door. She was still trying to speak as the door blew shut on her face.

Langris was staring at the place she had stood. But the mana was still building. Yuno had only felt this once before, at the Royal knights exam when Langris and the elf that was inside him had tried to kill Finral. Shit. 

“Bell, go and get William. Now.” She had been dozing in his grimoire, but appeared at his summons. She looked like she was going to be disagreeable, until she felt the mana that Langris was barely controlling. 

“You’re going to need me,” she said.

“We need William to shut it off. Go. Please.”

The building was beginning to vibrate and the power was still escalating. “Langris,” he said. “Turn it down.”

“He didn’t lie,” Langris said, but it was so quiet that it was difficult to hear over the rush of mana and the vibration in the walls. 

“I know he didn’t. We know he didn’t. Turn the mana down, Langris. You’re going to hurt someone.” Me, probably, Yuno thought to himself.

“I can’t.” 

“Please.”

Spatial distortions rippled through the air. They were like waves on water. Cracks appeared wherever they intercepted a solid object. A fissure appeared around the window. Shit. Yuno pulled on his own magic and felt it warp around the changes in space in the room. Mana skin might offer him a bit of protection. 

“Langris. Can you hold it back? William’s coming.”

“I can’t.”

As the distortions reached another peak, the door burst open. It broke apart into splinters as it hit the wall. William was pulling on his own magic. “Get back, Yuno.” 

Yuno stumbled backwards on the uneven floor. Langris was in the centre of a maelstrom of spatial magic. For a moment, Yuno worried that even William would not be able to control the mana spilling from Langris. 

Yuno did not hear Wiliam’s spell, but the pressure in the room shifted and Yuno’s ears popped. It felt like gravity shifted to the wall for a second. Then everything settled, and it was just Langris, standing in the middle of the damaged room, with plaster dust hanging in the sunlight. William reached Langris before Yuno could even move. 

“Langris,” William said as he put his hands on the younger man’s trembling shoulders. 

Langris wrapped his arms around his chest. He did not, maybe could not, meet William’s gaze. Yuno moved forward, ready to catch if Langris passed out. It looked inevitable. He was trembling and paler than Yuno had ever seen him. 

“Thank you,” Langris whispered. 

Yuno shoved the desk chair behind Langris and William guided him back. His knees buckled underneath him and he half sat, half collapsed into the chair. 

“Yuno. I sent for Owen. Can you go downstairs and meet him please?”

Yuno paused. He was torn between doing as William asked, and leaving Langris in the midst of whatever this was.

“I will look after him, I promise.” William was serious.

When he put it like that, Yuno’s hesitance seemed ridiculous. “Yes, sir.”

Langris glanced up as Yuno spoke. “I’m okay now .” 

Well, damn. He looked as far from okay as it was possible to be and still be upright. “I know,” Yuno said. Then, without letting himself think too long about William’s presence, he leaned in and wrapped Langris in a hug. “I know you’re okay,” Yuno said, and kissed him on the forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

William made no sign that he thought Yuno was being overly familiar with his Vice Captain. He might have given a small smile.

On the way down the stairs, Yuno could see the effect of Langris’s magic. There were cracks in the stairs, and the floor was uneven. One of the corners of the second floor had broken off and there was a hole in the stairs that he had to jump over. He might have been concerned about the stability of the building except there were signs of roots in the gaps holding things together. Branches sprouted out of the windowsill and bannisters. There was no sign of Liliane.

Yuno hurried past the accommodation block towards the main quadrangle and the normal portal location from the infirmary. Siren Tium was running the other direction with his grimoire out and stone magic ready to stabilise the building until the engineers could arrive. 

Owen was exiting the portal. He had his case in his hand. “I presume you know where I am meant to go?” he asked Yuno.

Yuno nodded, and started back towards the accommodation block. “Tell me what happened,” Owen said to his back.

“Langris’s mother came to see him. They had a discussion.”

“I assume that as well as I can imagine.”

Yuno thought that went without saying.

“So, am I here to see Langris or his mother?”

That gave Yuno pause. As if Yuno would have been sent if something had happened to Liliane. “Langris hasn’t been sleeping again. He was worried about Finral coming to visit, and then. Well, yesterday happened. I don’t think he slept at all last night. He was upset and exhausted. She came when he’d finally fallen asleep. He held it together for a bit, but she said that Finral was lying about the things that happened to him. And Langris’s magic…” Yuno stopped because they had rounded the corner and the destruction was apparent.

“I see,” Owen said.

“William’s with him.”

“Thank you Yuno. I think I can find my way now.”

Yuno glared at him. “I know.”

“You’re going to come too?”

Yuno did not think that needed an answer either. He led the way up the damaged stairway. 

William was sitting on the edge of the bed. Langris was where Yuno had left him. He had his head in his hands and was still shaking badly, but at least the mana was only tickling at the surface now. 

“I have it under control,” Langris murmured.

“I know,” Owen said gently. “I’d like to use my recovery spell now to see what’s going on.”

Langris shuddered. “Will it surge again, Owen? I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold it if it does.”

“It might. But William and Yuno are here. They can help until it’s under control again.”

“I don’t want to let go.”

“Langris. You need to rest. This is the quickest way.”

Langris sighed. “You need to be ready.”

William nodded. Yuno followed suit, even though he only guessed that they were talking about. He let his grimoire flicker open, and allowed his own magic to fill him. There was a tug as if whatever Langris was trying to control was pulling on the mana of the surrounding area. 

Owen’s recovery spell was his regular water based spell that Yuno had seen many times before. It enveloped Langris and he gasped. The tickle of mana that he had been suppressing pushed, but he pulled it back without William or Yuno having to intervene. Then it was gone and Langris sagged against the back of the chair and took a deep breath.

“Better?” Owen asked without releasing his spell.

“A little.”

Yuno allowed his mana skin to fade and his grimoire to settle again. William did the same. 

Owen held the recovery spell a little longer, then he let that fade too. Langris was still pale and shaky but his expression was no longer tight with pain. He looked exhausted. Owen said, "You've got a lot better at that since you were younger." 

"I haven't lost control like that in years. Is there a lot of mess?" His eyes were closing as he fought off sleep.

"Nothing that Siren hasn't seen before." William said in reassurance. "Why don't we get you to bed?" 

"Don't want to. Dreams." 

"I'll give you something to help that," Owen said. He went into his bag and pulled out a small bottle. Langris tried to reach for it, but he was so uncoordinated that Yuno took it instead. Owen looked interested, but did not comment. He spoke to Yuno. "One now, one in an hour, if he’s still awake. He can take another one if he wakes up in the next twelve hours." 

"I can manage," Langris muttered. 

"Sure,” Yuno said. “You want to try walking to bed?" 

Langris glared at him, then the distance to the bed. "Don't want to,” he said again. 

“I think you need a different room anyway,” William said as he looked at the cracks around the window. “This one needs a bit of work. There’s a room beside Klaus’s that’s unoccupied. And it’s bigger than this one.”

Langris was too tired to catch the significant look that William was giving them. It was a sign of how exhausted he was after not sleeping, recovery magic and whatever that loss of control had been. Langris might have missed it, but Yuno did not. He glared at William, whose blank face proved he knew exactly was implying. 

“I don’t think I can manage on my own,” Langris whispered.

“I could carry you,” Yuno said.

“Don’t you dare.”

Not that exhausted after all.

Yuno stood and offered a hand. Langris accepted it and allowed Yuno to pull him up. He wobbled as soon as he was upright, but managed to find his balance with Yuno’s support. 

“It’s the room next door to Klaus’s. It’s ready for you.” 

Yuno nodded. 

“I’ll check in before I leave, Langris,” Owen said. It was his way of saying that he was going to try to get all the gossip from William first.

Langris wobbled even more on the stairs until Yuno took his arm and put it over his shoulder so that he could get his own free arm around his waist. Langris was concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, but he frowned at the destruction. “Shit,” he whispered. “I haven’t lost it like this for years.”

Yuno did not answer. 

Siren was at the front of the building using his grimoire magic to reinforce the roots in the walls. Yuno felt Langris’s horror, but the quiet stone mage only said, “May I offer any assistance, Sirs?” he asked. 

Langris shook his head. 

Despite this, Siren stopped his magic and followed at a short distance. Langris did not notice, but Yuno nodded his thanks.

Yuno used a small burst of magic to open the door to this wing, then another to open the internal door to the room that William had suggested. Siren’s heavy footsteps were already heading back to the damaged area. 

The room was plain and bigger than Langris’s. It had a small sitting space leading onto an open sleeping area. The bed was neatly made. Yuno deposited Langris onto the edge and he sat, staring at the ground. Yuno closed the door behind them and fetched a small glass of water so that Langris could take the tablet. He had not moved by the time he returned. 

“He didn’t lie,” Langris said.

“We know he didn’t lie.”

“I’m not lying.”

“You’re an idiot, Langris. Take your shoes off.”

Langris did not seem to hear. Yuno knelt down and began to remove them. 

“We can’t let them take him.”

“We won’t. Yami won’t.”

“Yami’s going to get in trouble.” He was shaking again.

“William’s going to sort it out. We trust William. He believes us. It’s going to be okay. You need to sleep.”

“Sleep?”

“Owen gave you tablets. Are you going to take one?”

“Owen knows about us. He knows about everything.”

“Agreed. Take one and lie down, Langris.”

Yuno dropped one of the little white pills into his hand. Langris took it and swallowed it obediently, then some water. Yuno then nudged him to lie down and covered him with a blanket. His eyes were already closed and his breathing had slowed to sleep. 

Yuno took a moment to fix in his memory the feeling of Langris doing what he was told. It had never happened before.

There was a quiet knock at the door. It was nothing like Liliane’s insistence or even William’s polite enquiry. This person waited until Yuno opened the door. It was Owen.

“He’s sleeping.” Yuno said and stepped back to let Owen enter. 

“Good job, Yuno. I didn’t think you’d get him to sleep so quickly. He must trust you.”

Yuno did not answer. Owen was going to have to fish for information from someone else.

“Did you get him to drink too?”

“Only a little.”

Owen nodded. He checked Langris’s pulse and breathing. “He’s likely to wake in a few hours. Get him to drink, eat something if he can and then give him the other tablet. I’ll be around in the morning to check, but he should be fine.”

Yuno nodded. 

“Do you want to ask anything?”

“What happened to him? I’ve never seen him like that before. He was upset when Finral changed weeks ago. Maybe even more than this. I’ve felt his mana flare when he was upset.” He thought of Langris standing at the door to Klaus’s room. “But he never lost it like that.”

“We call it a surge effect. When a young child learns to control their magic there is a formative stage of development where the disconnect between emotional distress and mana release is meant to happen. Prior to this stage, children tend to release their mana when they are upset or unhappy. It causes minor damage in even the most powerful young mages. But if a child is not taught control at that stage, the problem can persist into adulthood.”

“Do you mean that Langris can’t control his mana when he’s upset? That he was never taught how to do it.”

“I’m only telling you this because you mustn't assume that this is Langris’s fault. This is information that I would ask you to keep private. I have it on good authority that he was locked in his room if he looked like he was about to lose control of his mana as a child. That reinforces a fear cycle. It’s remarkable that he has the control he does with that kind of early education. But his techniques are crude and prone to, well, crashing and burning. And when they do, it’s more mana than any mage can control.”

“So his parents messed him up?”

“You could say that.”

“So why did it happen now? He was stressed and tired before.”

“Sleep deprivation erodes mana control in everyone. Add to that the confrontation with his mother and you can understand.”

There was no answer to that.

“It happened a couple of times when he joined the Golden Dawn, but not for years. And more often when he was a child.” Owen pulled up the blanket so that Langris was covered again. “You will look after him.” 

It was not a question, but Yuno said, “Yes Sir,” anyway.

Owen was satisfied.


End file.
